The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-31
THE INTERSTATE BILL.


Views of Simon Sterne, Charles Francis
Adams and Judge Cooley.
New York SPECIAL.
The following statements of opinion have been
received by Bradstreet's, in response to inquiries
regarding the probable effect of the interstate
Commerce bill upon existing rates and traffic
agreements:
Simon Sterue of New York says: 'sIn answer
to your question of what will be the immediate
effect OF the interstate-commerce act on local
and through rates. l would say that it would
have tendency to maintain through rates and
prevent the railway companies hereafter cutting
through rates. because they incur the penalty of
being compelled to put down their local rates for
shipments of large quantities of freight under
like circumstances to the basis of the through
rate. There Is nothing in the act to prevent rail
way presidents and railway managers making
any arrangement for the maintenance of rates
they may lit, so long they stop short of
actually pooling either they money an agreed
division of dividing percentages Of goods. IT.
therefore. rests upon the good faith of the rail-
way officers whether the rates shall be main
tanned. l regret that these two provisions have
found their way into the bill in the way trey
stand, because it enables the railway officials to
make the act odous by cutting rates and putting
the blame upon the act.
Charles Francis Adams, Of Boston, says: 1.-THE
Dill in question is difficult of construction in
many points, and the conditions upon which it
as brought to bear highly complex Under
these circumstances | hold it very difficult to
predict what practical results may follow from
it,
Senator Leland Stanford, of Washington,
says: 'In nay judgment the effect to railroads
lines of moderate distances, say 500 miles, will
be favorable. as il will stop the cutting of rates
in competition between themselves. AS to the
roads of 600 miles less, it will probably not
prohibit any traffic by reason of rates, and SO
far will have the fleet sought to be derived from
pooling. For long distances the question of the
value of the product must always be considera-
tion. Competition By waterways determines
the price that railroads can obtain, the penalty
of meeting competition at competing points be-
ing that the competing price shall regulate busl-
ness at the non-competing points. Competitor
at the competing points must needs be very
limited"
Hon. Thomas NJ Cooley, of Chicago, says II
do not believe that rates will in general be much
affected, but they will probably be better main
tanned than they now, and if they they
will be more equal as to large and small shippers
The long and short-haui clause will make neces-
sary equalization in some cases, which at
competing points will raise existing rates, but
do not as yet reason to think that these cases
will be either very numerous very serious.
The equalization which the law will compel
ought, In some cases, to have been made by the
voluntary action of the roads, acting in co-opera
ton. Traffic agreements between the roads
must assume forms. With the aboli-
ton of pooling some portion of the existing
machinery devised fer the preservation of rates
NAV be dispensed with; but some common
agency at the leading railroad centers whose
business it shall be to preserve friendly relations
between the roads, and to hold them to the rules
OF fair dealing as between themselves, may be as
important ever and the statistics which are
now collected for the general use of the mana
gers will be as useful as ever. But to what ex-
tent the existing machinery of management is to
be modified, no one can yet say. 1t must be
determined gradually and experimentally.